Supply Chain & Merchandising

Focus on concrete moisture and mitigation

Damage to flooring from concrete slab moisture costs U.S. companies upwards of $1 billion each year. When we interviewed flooring industry experts, more than 70% of them reported that they experience moisture issues “often,” with 100% of those surveyed in unanimous agreement that they had experienced some moisture issues.

Moisture issues show up as distorted flooring (such as curling and buckling), adhesive coming through the joints and alkalinity.

In the 1990s, when the Internet and eCommerce created a tangible link between modes of shopping that had previously been isolated (stores and catalogs), retailers struggled with how to understand, measure, and connect with shoppers in multiple ways.

It was out of this confusion that the concept of “multichannel” was heralded as retail’s saving grace, and soon, retailers were all abuzz with cross-channel shoppers.

Fast-forward a few years and retailers began scratching their heads wondering why their “multichannel” initiatives hadn’t delivered the stunning ROI they were pro

Seattle – If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Amazon.com is reportedly heeding that old saw with plans to open a store on the Tmall site of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Holding Group.

Charlotte, N.C. - Family Dollar Inc. is overhauling its store network. The retailer has selected Interface Security Systems Holdings Inc. as its IP managed service provider across its entire retail platform.

Family Dollar recently completed a major initiative to modernize and refresh critical technology in each of its stores. The technology makeover, or Flat Rate Managed Service Project, was launched in collaboration with Interface in July 2014 and is scheduled for completion by May 2015.

Washington, D.C. -- Despite harsh winter weather throughout the country, retail industry employment in February increased by 24,000 jobs and has increased 218,000 on a year-over-year basis as retailers and merchants again added strength in numbers to the overall economy, according to the National Retail Federation.

Strong monthly gains were witnessed in apparel, building material and supplies, sporting goods and home and home furnishing sectors. Job gains as calculated by NRF do not include auto dealerships, restaurants or gas stations.

Kohl’s pursues ‘Greatness Agenda’ with enterprise omnichannel initiatives

If you’re going to create an agenda, it may as well be an ambitious one. And the “Greatness Agenda” being pursued by Kohl’s Corp. is certainly that.

“Our strategy is to be the most engaging retailer in the U.S.,” Janet Schalk, executive VP and CIO of Kohl’s, explained during an interview with Chain Store Age.

Technology evolves to let smaller stores maximize energy savings

Do more with less. That’s an overall trend in retail facilities services, where retailers have less resources to run their properties even as they come under pressure to increase service levels while also reducing costs.